Epistle to Pope Celestine V., Formerly Called Petro da Morrone
PIERO DA MORRON', what wilt thou do?Thou art brought to trial and touchstone too.
We shall see, perchance, at last achievedWhat within thy cell thy heart believed:If in thee the world should be deceived,Maledictions deep will follow thee.
Very high and noble is thy fame,Far and wide the folk revere thy name;If at last thou soil thyself with shame,Strange confusion must the righteous see.
As a mark for arrows is thy state,All the world is watching for thy fate ;If thou dost not hold the balance straight,From thy rule to God appeal shall be.
By this test thy metal shall be told,Be it copper, iron, or pure gold;Be thou thread, or fleece, or cloth—behold!Now thine acts shall tell us certainly.
'Tis a forge, this court, to try thy mind,In its fires pure gold shall be refined;—Nought but ashes will be left behind,If from dross thy metal be not free.
If in office thou shouldst take delight,Evil will infect thee with its blight,And a heavy curse thy life shall smite,Losing God, for bribes of empery.
Anxious grief for thee my heart did fill,When thou didst pronounce the words,—" I will! "Lest that yoke should damn thy soul to ill,Laid upon thy neck thus heavily.
When the virtuous man, whose heart is sound,To a hard and storm-tost task is bound,Vigorous and faithful is he found,He will bear his banner steadfastly.
Great thy rank and great thy worthiness,But the tempest round thee is no less,And within thy mansion, questionless,Thou shalt find most strange variety.
If a father's love thou dost not feel,Never will the world obedient kneel ;Bastard love is empty and unreal,All unworthy of thy prelacy.
Bastard love knows naught of heavenly aid;For with earthly coin that love is paid,False of heart, deceitful and afraid,Banished far from heavenly purity.
And the cardinals are fallen low,In an evil course their longings flow,Never one his kinsmen will forgoTo enrich them all by perfidy.
Of the prebends, too, thou must beware,Great their hunger for unlawful fare,Fierce their thirst, fierce even to despair,For no draught can quench its cruelty.
And beware the cheats, who'd have thee thinkBlack is white, and white as black as ink;If, unguarded, in their snares thou sink,Thou wilt sing thy song full evilly.
Words in this poem 18
- touchstone n.
- Lydian stone; basanite; -- so called because used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. See Basanite.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- revere v. t.
- To regard with reverence, or profound respect and affection, mingled with awe or fear; to venerate; to reverence; to honor in estimation. [L. revereri; pref. re- re- + vereri to fear, perh. akin to E. wary: cf. F. révérer.]
- empery n.
- Empire; sovereignty; dominion. [L. imperium, influenced by OF. emperie, empire. See Empire.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- damn v. t.
- To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censhure. [OE. damnen dap), OF. damner, dampner, F. damner, fr. L. damnare, damnatum, to condemn, fr. damnum damage, a fine, penalty. Cf. Condemn, Damage.]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- steadfastly adv.
- In a steadfast manner; firmly.
- worthiness n.
- The quality or state of being worthy; desert; merit; excellence; dignity; virtue; worth.
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
- questionless a.
- Unquestioning; incurious.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- forgo v. t.
- To pass by; to leave. See 1st Forego. [OE. forgan, forgon, forgoon, AS. forgan, prop., to go past, hence, to abstain from; pref. for- + gan to go; akin to G. vergehen to pass away, to transgress. See]
- perfidy n.
- The act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow, or of trust reposed; faithlessness; teachery. [L. perfidia, fr. L. perfidus faithless; per (cf. Skr. para away) + fides faith: cf. F. perfidie. See Faith.]
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- evilly adv.
- In an evil manner; not well; ill.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epistle to Pope Celestine V., Formerly Called Petro da Morrone is in the public domain. This text is taken from Jacopone da Todi, Poet and Mystic, 1228-1306: A Spiritual Biography, with a Selection from the Spiritual Songs, Internet Archive, the Mrs. Theodore Beck translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jacopone da Todi, Epistle to Pope Celestine V., Formerly Called Petro da Morrone, in The Lauds (1919), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacopone-lauds/epistle-to-pope-celestine-v-formerly-called-petro-da-morrone.html, id L27107.
Form and metre
Epistle to Pope Celestine V., Formerly Called Petro da Morrone is 58 lines in 15 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 52% of the lines. The metre is trochaic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA doA · tooA
- 2 AAA- achievedA · believedA · deceivedA · thee
- 3 AAA- fameA · nameA · shameA · see
- 4 AAA- stateA · fateA · straightA · be
- 5 AAA- toldA · goldA · beholdA · certainly
- 6 AAA- mindA · refinedA · behindA · free
- 7 AAA- delightA · blightA · smiteA · empery
- 8 AAA- fillA · willA · illA · heavily
- 9 AAA- soundA · boundA · foundA · steadfastly
- 10 AAA- worthinessA · lessA · questionlessA · variety
- 11 AAA- feelA · kneelA · unrealA · prelacy
- 12 AAA- aidA · paidA · afraidA · purity
- 13 AAA- lowA · flowA · forgoA · perfidy
- 14 AAA- bewareA · fareA · despairA · cruelty
- 15 AAA- thinkA · inkA · sinkA · evilly
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| PIERO DA MORRON', what wilt thou do? | 9 | /˘······· |
| Thou art brought to trial and touchstone too. | 10 | ····/˘·/·· |
| We shall see, perchance, at last achieved | 9 | ···˘/··˘/ |
| What within thy cell thy heart believed: | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| If in thee the world should be deceived, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Maledictions deep will follow thee. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Very high and noble is thy fame, | 9 | /˘··/˘··· |
| Far and wide the folk revere thy name; | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| If at last thou soil thyself with shame, | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| Strange confusion must the righteous see. | 9 | ·˘/˘··/˘· |
| As a mark for arrows is thy state, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| All the world is watching for thy fate ; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| If thou dost not hold the balance straight, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| From thy rule to God appeal shall be. | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| By this test thy metal shall be told, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Be it copper, iron, or pure gold; | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| Be thou thread, or fleece, or cloth—behold! | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Now thine acts shall tell us certainly. | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| 'Tis a forge, this court, to try thy mind, | 9 | ········· |
| In its fires pure gold shall be refined; | 9 | ··/····˘/ |
| —Nought but ashes will be left behind, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| If from dross thy metal be not free. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| If in office thou shouldst take delight, | 9 | ··/˘···˘/ |
| Evil will infect thee with its blight, | 9 | /˘·˘/···· |
| And a heavy curse thy life shall smite, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Losing God, for bribes of empery. | 9 | /˘····/˘˘ |
| Anxious grief for thee my heart did fill, | 9 | /˘······· |
| When thou didst pronounce the words,—" I will! " | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| Lest that yoke should damn thy soul to ill, | 9 | ········· |
| Laid upon thy neck thus heavily. | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| When the virtuous man, whose heart is sound, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| To a hard and storm-tost task is bound, | 9 | ········· |
| Vigorous and faithful is he found, | 9 | /˘˘·/˘··· |
| He will bear his banner steadfastly. | 9 | ····/˘/·˘ |
| Great thy rank and great thy worthiness, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| But the tempest round thee is no less, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And within thy mansion, questionless, | 9 | ····/˘/˘˘ |
| Thou shalt find most strange variety. | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| If a father's love thou dost not feel, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Never will the world obedient kneel ; | 9 | /···˘/˘˘· |
| Bastard love is empty and unreal, | 9 | /˘··/˘·˘/ |
| All unworthy of thy prelacy. | 9 | ·˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Bastard love knows naught of heavenly aid; | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| For with earthly coin that love is paid, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| False of heart, deceitful and afraid, | 9 | ···˘/˘·˘/ |
| Banished far from heavenly purity. | 10 | /˘··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| And the cardinals are fallen low, | 9 | ··/˘˘·/˘· |
| In an evil course their longings flow, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| Never one his kinsmen will forgo | 9 | /˘·····˘/ |
| To enrich them all by perfidy. | 9 | ·˘/···/˘˘ |
| Of the prebends, too, thou must beware, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Great their hunger for unlawful fare, | 9 | ··/˘·˘/˘· |
| Fierce their thirst, fierce even to despair, | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| For no draught can quench its cruelty. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And beware the cheats, who'd have thee think | 9 | ·˘/······ |
| Black is white, and white as black as ink; | 9 | ········· |
| If, unguarded, in their snares thou sink, | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| Thou wilt sing thy song full evilly. | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.